Case Study: Aston University, Centre for Business Prosperity

The Context

Aston University’s Centre for Business Prosperity wanted their flagship research, Powering the Future: The UK Electric Vehicle Industry and Global Value Chains, to do more than sit in academic journals. Their aim was to influence policymakers, industry leaders, and regional stakeholders shaping the UK’s industrial future.

The Partnership

Fellshore worked closely with the Aston team to transform the research into a campaign. It wasn’t about consultancy at a distance, it was about genuine partnership: working side by side to design content, target outreach, and ensure the research found its audience. Professor Jun Du, who leads the Centre, recognised that while her team had deep expertise in research, they needed additional skills to bring their insights to life and create real-world impact.

The Approach

We created an Influence Campaign Kit, including:

• Detailed stakeholder engagement framework, clearly defining who had an interest and who had the ability to influence the ambitions of the research.

• A dedicated landing page and content hub, so stakeholders could access explainer pieces, and executive summary, blogs from the authors, and not just the detailed final report.

• Blogs, press releases, and digital assets for thought leadership.

• A LinkedIn campaign to extend reach.

• Targeted engagement with ministers, Innovate UK, and automotive leaders.

The Result

The impact was felt not just in numbers, but in the quality of engagement and influence:

• Policy influence: Aston’s insights contributed to the UK Government’s Battery Strategy.

• Engagement: 766 page views, 268 engaged sessions, and 102 downloads in week one. These lead to connections and invitations for Professor Du to present the findings at conferences and events across the country.

• Reach: direct engagement with ministers, Innovate UK leads, and CEOs across the automotive sector.

• Media impact: coverage in Business Green, The Engineer, GB News, Energy Live News, and more.

But beyond the metrics, the campaign shifted how the research was perceived: it opened doors to policymakers, positioned Aston as a thought leader in the industrial strategy space, and gave Professor Du’s team a new model for ensuring academic work is not just published, but heard and acted upon.

Professor Jun Du said:"Working with Fellshore was a real partnership. Jen and Colin understood the depth and complexity of our research but also challenged us to think differently about how to communicate it. It’s a rarity to find a consultancy with the ability to do both of these things.  The team is incredibly knowledgeable and professional, yet easy to work with. They brought creativity, rigour, and new ways of working that helped us extend our reach and influence far beyond what we could have achieved alone."

The Takeaway

By activating their stakeholders, Aston turned research into influence, raising their profile as a thought leader and helping shape national industrial policy.

Our Belief

At Fellshore, we believe change happens when stakeholders are shown not just why something matters, but what they can do about it and are motivated to act. That’s the principle behind Activate. When insight becomes influence and people are given a pathway to action, ideas don’t just stay on the page. They become movements that shape policy, practice, and lives.

If this sounds like the type of thing that would be helpful within your organisation, we would love to hear from you.